By
Dr.Nadia Helmy
Africa-Press – Eritrea. China has consistently adhered to its fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world and has taken concrete measures to promote the building of an open global economy. In your opinion, China has made numerous contributions to global economic development through its opening-up policy. China has successfully implemented its economic opening-up policy by establishing various platforms for accessing foreign companies, most notably the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPEX), and the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), among others. The Chinese government initially announced the decision to hold the CIIE with the aim of expanding China’s opening-up to the world and transforming its vast market into tremendous opportunities for the global community. As such, the CIIE has become a showcase for China’s new development model, a high-level platform for Chinese opening-up, and a public good for the entire world.
Here, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has played a significant role in promoting China’s economic opening-up policy globally, becoming one of the most popular international platforms for global cooperation with China. China has signed over 200 cooperation documents under the Belt and Road Initiative with 151 countries and 32 international organizations, boosting global economic growth opportunities by supporting China’s development model and its Belt and Road Initiative. This Chinese development model, which can be termed “development dividends shared by China with the rest of the world,” is being transformed by the Belt and Road Initiative program, significantly impacting developing regions such as Africa and the developing Global South.
China’s policy of “high-quality, high-level opening-up” is one of the most important foreign policy measures and initiatives in China’s development plan. As the world’s second-largest economy with a population exceeding 1.5 billion, China, through its large-scale opening-up policy, has embraced others with a massive consumer market and a firm commitment to promoting common development for all, thereby injecting confidence and certainty into the global economy. Some of the most important aspects of China’s high-level opening-up include achieving multiple goals to serve the global economy through shared opportunities, joint development, and improved livelihoods, all with the ultimate aim of building a community with a shared future for mankind, as envisioned by Chinese President “Xi Jinping”. Beijing has also vigorously promoted global and regional free trade. For example, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which officially entered into force in 2022, is currently the world’s largest free trade agreement, with 15 signatories. Based on the “RCEP,” China has actively promoted free trade and worked to break down trade barriers among participating countries.
As part of its high-level opening-up policy, China has actively sought to continuously lower the minimum requirements and reduce the costs and risks associated with foreign investment, reducing the number of items on the country’s negative lists. The Chinese government has also taken a series of measures to ensure a level playing field for all, enabling foreign companies to enjoy a better business environment in mainland China. By encouraging numerous industries that promote foreign investment and by applying temporary import duty rates lower than those of most-favored-nation countries on more than 1,020 goods, China has also reduced tariffs on 62 technology products for more specific countries, thus creating numerous successful investment opportunities for leading technology companies, both local and foreign, around the world.
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